Florida effort to teach kids about money needs to go farther

It's not often lately that Florida is held up as a role model in the world of education.

So learning that Florida is the first state to adopt the Council for Economic Education's National Standards for Financial Literacy sounds like rare and welcome news.

Several recent news stories have boasted about this little tidbit.

But this is Florida.

Which means there's a story behind that.

It is true that Florida is the first to adopt the new standards.

But as I pointed out in a column last month, Florida still has a long way to go when it comes to really educating kids about how to avoid bad debt, how to save and how to otherwise be responsible with money.

Instead of requiring a class devoted to financial literacy, Florida punted and decided to include a few lessons on financial literacy during an already required social studies class.

Let's be clear. This is better than the current state of affairs, which is that students weren't getting a formal money education at all unless they had a teacher who happened to make it a priority or the school opted to offer a program.

Now, beginning this fall, every student who graduates will have at least some portion of a class to devoted to this necessary life skill.

To truly be effective, though, Florida needs a whole class dedicated to these lessons.

That idea hasn't gained traction in Tallahassee because educators react to new mandates the way most cats react to water.

But that doesn't mean it's not a good idea.

Lots of business groups and education advocates think so.

The Florida Council on Economic Education, which advocates for a money course, points out that kids have a higher chance of becoming overloaded with debt when they come from a state like Florida that doesn't offer much in the way of financial education.